Heavy rains have brought[2] water levels at China[3]‘s Three Gorges Dam to within spitting distance of the massive structure’s maximum capacity. Chinese officials have defended the controversial dam, saying that it would be able to withstand 10,000-year floods. However the country’s summer rains are the worst they have been in 10 years, with widespread flooding causing the deaths of at least 823 people.

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According to the state-run news agency, the dam is at 90 percent capacity. The government has also defended the dam — the world’s largest hydroelectric[5] project, whose construction displaced a million people — by saying that it would control flooding along the Yangtze River.